Order BELONIFORMES (Needlefishes)

COMMENTS
v. 10.0 – 29 April 2023  view/download PDF

6 families · 44 genera/subgenera · 313 species/subspecies

Family ADRIANICHTHYIDAE
3 genera · 42 species

Subfamily ORYZIINAE Medakas or Ricefishes

Nasutoryzias Roberts 2021    nasutus, long-snouted, referring to upper and lower jaws equally projecting when mouth is closed; Oryzias, superficially similar genus

Nasutoryzias ataranensis Roberts 2021    –ensis, suffix denoting place: Ataran Chaung, a large tidal creek, lower Salween basin, Myanmar, type locality

Oryzias Jordan & Snyder 1906    Greek for rice, referring to occurrence of O. latipes in flooded rice fields of Japan, especially during the summer

Oryzias andrewi Roberts, Chakraborty, Yardi & Mukherjee 2021    in honor of ornamental-fish collector Andrew Arunava Rao, Malabar Tropicals, Calcutta, who collected type specimens and made them available to the authors

Oryzias asinua Parenti, Hadiaty, Lumbantobing & Herder 2013    named for Sungai Asinua, Tenggara, Sulawesi, Indonesia, type locality

Oryzias bonneorum Parenti 2008    orum, commemorative suffix, plural: in honor of Cornelis Bonne (1890-1948) and Johanna Bonne-Wepster (1892-1978), husband-and-wife entomologists who worked throughout Indonesia in the early 20th century and collected fish (including type of this one) to determine if they were eating mosquito larvae

Oryzias carnaticus (Jerdon 1849)    icus, belonging to: the Carnatic coast, referring to distribution in South India (also occurs in Andaman Islands, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh)

Oryzias celebensis (Weber 1894)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Celebes (now Sulawesi), Indonesia, where type locality (Maros River near Maros) is situated (also occurs in East Timor)

Oryzias curvinotus (Nichols & Pope 1927)    curvis, curved or bent; notus, back, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to flat head curving or bending upwards to slightly elevated back, which then slopes down towards caudal peduncle

Oryzias dancena (Hamilton 1822)    latinization of Dhankhena, local name for this species in India (also occurs in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar)

Oryzias dopingdopingensis Mandagi, Mokodongan, Tanaka & Yamahira 2018    ensis, suffix denoting place: Doping-doping River, Sulawesi, Indonesia, type locality

Oryzias eversi Herder, Hadiaty & Nolte 2012    in honor of aquarist Hans-Georg Evers (b. 1964), who discovered this ricefish while exploring fishes and habitats in Sulawesi

Oryzias hadiatyae Herder & Chapuis 2010    in honor of ichthyologist Renny Kurnia Hadiaty (1960-2019), Indonesian Institute of Sciences, who “contributed significantly to the exploration of fish diversity in the Malili Lakes area” of Sulawesi; she also discovered this ricefish in remote Lake Masapi

Oryzias haugiangensis Roberts 1998    ensis, suffix denoting place: Hau Giang, Vietnamese name for the Bassac River (type locality), one of the two large distributaries of the Mekong River in the Mekong delta

Oryzias hubbsi Roberts 1998    in honor of ichthyologist Carl L. Hubbs (1894-1979), who collected this species in 1929 and recognized it as new

Oryzias javanicus (Bleeker 1854)    Javanese, referring to Java, Indonesia, where type locality (Panimbang River) is situated (but occurs throughout southeast Asia, including peninsular Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Borneo)

Oryzias kalimpaaensis Gani, Suhendra, Herder, Schwarzer, Möhring, Montenegro, Herjayanto & Mokodongan 2022    –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Lake Kalimpa’a, Sulawesi Tengah, Indonesia, type locality

Oryzias landangiensis Utama & Yamahira 2022    –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Landangi Hamlet, Matano Village, Nuha subdistrict, Luwu Timur Regency, Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia, type locality

Oryzias latipes (Temminck & Schlegel 1846)    latus, broad; pes, foot, referring to longer anal fin compared to presumed congeners in Poecilia (Cyprinodontiformes: Poeciliidae)

Oryzias loxolepis Kobayashi, Mokodongan & Yamahira 2023    loxos, oblique; lepis, scale, referring to its diagonally aligned scales

Oryzias luzonensis (Herre & Ablan 1934)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Luzon Island, Philippines, where it is endemic

Oryzias marmoratus (Aurich 1935)    marbled, referring to sides “more or less marbled” (translation)

Oryzias matanensis (Aurich 1935)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Lake Matano, Sulawesi, Indonesia, where it is endemic

Oryzias mekongensis Uwa & Magtoon 1986    ensis, suffix denoting place: Mekong River basin of Thailand, type locality (also occurs in Laos and Kampuchea)

Oryzias minutillus Smith 1945    diminutive of minutus, small, attaining full maturity when only 17 mm long, smallest member of genus

Oryzias nebulosus Parenti & Soeroto 2004    misty or foggy, referring to how this species was previously unrecognized among the melanistic Oryzias in Lake Poso, Sulawesi Tengah, Indonesia

Oryzias nigrimas Kottelat 1990    niger, black; mas, males, referring to dark nuptial coloration of males

Oryzias orthognathus Kottelat 1990    orthos, right; gnathos, jaw, referring to upturned mouth, forming a sharp angle between lower jaw and body axis

Oryzias pectoralis Roberts 1998    pectoral, referring to black spot at base of pectoral fin

Oryzias profundicola Kottelat 1990    profundus, deep; cola, dweller or inhabitant, referring to preferred habitat below 1.5 m, unusual for ricefishes, which usually occur close to surface

Oryzias sakaizumii Asai, Senou & Hosoya 2012    in honor of molecular geneticist Mitsuri Sakaizumi, Niigata University, who “pioneered in and contributed to the field of molecular phylogenetic study of Japanese ricefishes”

Oryzias sarasinorum (Popta 1905)    orum, commemorative suffix, plural: in honor of Swiss naturalist-ethnologist Paul Sarasin (1856-1929) and his second cousin, naturalist Fritz Sarasin (1859-1942), who collected type

Oryzias setnai (Kulkarni 1940)    in honor of Sam Bomansha Setna (1895-1969), Fisheries Officer, Bombay, who provided “encouragement, ready help, valuable criticisms and suggestions” during Kulkarni’s completion of the fish’s description

Oryzias sinensis Chen, Uwa & Chu 1989    ensis, suffix denoting place: Sinica (China), proposed as a subspecies of the Japanese O. latipes occurring in China (also occurs in Korea, Laos, Viêt Nam and Thailand; introduced in Europe)

Oryzias soerotoi Mokodongan, Tanaka & Yamahira 2014    in honor of ichthyologist Bambang Soeroto (b. 1929), Sam Ratulangi University (Indonesia), for his “enduring contributions to the exploration of fish diversity in Sulawesi”

Oryzias songkhramensis Magtoon 2010    ensis, suffix denoting place: Songkhram River basin of Thailand, where it occurs; also occurs in Mekong River basin in northeast Thailand and central Laos

Oryzias timorensis (Weber & de Beaufort 1922)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Timor Island, Indonesia, where it is endemic

Oryzias uwai Roberts 1998    in honor of the late Hiroshi Uwa (1942-1993), Shinshu University (Matsumoto, Japan), a “pioneer” in the study of ricefish chromosomes

Oryzias wolasi Parenti, Hadiaty, Lumbantobing & Herder 2013    named for District of Wolasi, Regency of Konawe Selatan, Sulawesi, Indonesia, type locality

Oryzias woworae Parenti & Hadiaty 2010    in honor of carcinologist Daisy Wowor (b. 1956), Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense (Bogor, Indonesia), who collected type and “had the foresight to take color photographs of the fish alive”

Subfamily ADRIANICHTHYINAE Duckbilled Fishes

Adrianichthys Weber 1913    Adrian, in honor of Dutch Christian missionary and linguist Nicolaus Adriani (1865-1926), who collected natural history specimens in Poso, Sulawesi, and who “was kind enough to have the missionary Mr. A. Kruyt [see A. kruyti] at Lake Posso procure the fish for me” (translation) fish; ichthys, fish

Adrianichthys kruyti Weber 1913    in honor of Albert Christian Kruyt (1889-1949), Dutch medical missionary at Poso, Sulawesi, type locality, who procured type for Weber

Adrianichthys oophorus (Kottelat 1990)    oon, egg; phorus, to carry or bear, the only species of the family known to develop an abdominal cavity to carry its eggs, 2.0-2.1 mm in diameter, with almost fully developed embryos (when seen from below, eggs are almost entirely covered by pelvic fins)

Adrianichthys poptae (Weber & de Beaufort 1922)    in honor of Canna Maria Louise Popta (1860-1929), the “indefatigable ichthyologist” of the at the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (Leiden, Netherlands), where she was Curator of Reptiles, Amphibians and Fishes

Adrianichthys roseni Parenti & Soeroto 2004    in honor of the late Donn E. Rosen (1929-1986), American Museum of Natural History, for his “enthusiasm, generosity, and enduring contributions to atherinomorph systematics”


Family EXOCOETIDAE Flyingfishes
15 genera/subgenera · 91 species/subspecies

Subfamily FODIATORINAE

Fodiator Jordan & Meek 1885    one who stabs, presumably referring to long, slender and pointed snout of F. acutus, the lower jaw much projecting

Fodiator acutus (Valenciennes 1847)    sharp, referring to long, slender and pointed snout, the lower jaw much projecting

Fodiator rostratus (Günther 1866)    beaked, referring to its “much produced” snout

Subfamily PAREXOCOETINAE

Parexocoetus Bleeker 1865    para-, near, referring to similarity to, and previous placement of P. mento in, Exocoetus

Parexocoetus brachypterus (Richardson 1846)    brachy, short; pterus, fin, presumably referring to shorter pectoral fins compared to Exocoetus mesogaster, its presumed congener at the time

Parexocoetus hillianus (Gosse 1851)    ianus, belonging to: Jamaican magistrate and amateur naturalist Richard Hill (1795-1872), “a gentlemen, whose scientific attainments are equalled only by his urbane manners, and truly estimable character” (described from Jamaica but no types known)

Parexocoetus mento (Valenciennes 1847)    mentum, chin, referring to bony triangular knob at symphysis of lower jaw, which projects beyond upper jaw

Subfamily EXOCOETINAE

Exocoetus Linnaeus 1758    ex-, out of; koitos, bed, i.e, sleeping (or lying) outside, reportedly referring to belief held by early Mediterranean sailors that flyingfish left the ocean at night to sleep on the shore, however, name dates to Pliny (Naturalis Historia), who appears to have described a freshwater fish, and to Aelianus (De Natura Animalium), a Roman author who applied the name to a fish he called a mullet but was probably a blenny that grazes on algae outside the water on exposed rocks of the tidal zone and may sometimes be stranded when the tide goes out; Artedi applied “exocoetus” to flyingfishes for reasons unknown, although it could be said that flyingfishes have a mullet-like shape, are seen at the surface like mullets, and commonly strand themselves on boats (but not on shore)

Exocoetus gibbosus Parin & Shakhovskoy 2000    humpbacked, referring to body form, especially of juveniles

Exocoetus mesogaster Bloch 1795    mesos, middle; gaster, belly, referring to insertion of ventral fins midway between pupil and last caudal vertebra

Exocoetus monocirrhus Richardson 1846    mono-, one; cirrus, curl or tendril, referring to single barbel on chin

Exocoetus obtusirostris Günther 1866    obtusus, blunt; rostris, snout, referring to shorter snout compared to E. evolans (=volitans)

Exocoetus peruvianus Parin & Shakhovskoy 2000    ianus, belonging to: occurring in waters off Peru (and Ecuador)

Exocoetus volitans Linnaeus 1758    flying, referring to how it propels itself out of the water and appears to fly (actually, it glides)

Subfamily CYPSELURINAE

Cheilopogon Lowe 1841    cheilos, lip; pogon, beard, referring to “cirrate appendage” on lower jaw of Cypselurus pulchellus (=Cheilopogon pinnatibarbatus), “like a leathern flap or apron, torn irregularly at the bottom into strips or thongs”

Subgenus Cheilopogon

Cheilopogon altipennis (Valenciennes 1847)    altus, high; pennis, fin, referring to its greatly developed dorsal fin, “whose rays exceed the height of the trunk measured beneath them” (translation)

Cheilopogon pinnatibarbatus pinnatibarbatus (Bennett 1831)    pinnatus, winged, referring to wing-like pectoral fins; barbatus, bearded, referring to fringed chin barbel, presumably of a juvenile

Cheilopogon pinnatibarbatus californicus (Cooper 1863)    Californian, described as the “Californian Flying-Fish,” found in “great numbers” during the summer south of Point Conception (California, USA)

Cheilopogon pinnatibarbatus japonicus Franz 1910    Japanese, referring to type locality, Oyama, Sagami Bay, Japan (types now lost, destroyed in World War II)

Cheilopogon pinnatibarbatus melanocercus (Ogilby 1885)    melanos, black; cercus, tail, referring to black caudal fin

Subgenus Abeichthys Parin 1961    Abe, in honor of ichthyologist Tokiharu Abe (1911-1996), Zoological Institute of Tokyo University, who made detailed studies of the flyingfishes of Japan and was the first to call attention to the special position occupied by C. agoo in the taxonomy of the family; ichthys, fish

Cheilopogon agoo (Temminck & Schlegel 1846)    vernacular name for this species in 19th-century Japan

Cheilopogon rapanouiensis Parin 1961    ensis, suffix denoting place: Rapa Nui (Easter Island), near where type was collected

Subgenus Amustotrogon Shakhovskoy & Parin 2019    amustacas, without barbels; perotrogon, a toothed creature, referring to absence of barbels in juveniles and presence of strong teeth on jaws

Cheilopogon formosus formosus (Kotthaus 1969)    pretty, presumably referring to juvenile coloration (e.g., dark bands on yellow-brown body, brown-black area near posterior margin of pale pectoral fins)

Cheilopogon formosus andamanicus Shakhovskoy & Parin 2019    icus, belonging to: referring to distribution mainly in the Andaman Sea

Cheilopogon formosus pseudospilopterus Shakhovskoy & Parin 2019    pseudo-, false, i.e., although adults of this species are extremely similar to C. spilopterus, such an appearance is false

Cheilopogon marisrubri Shakhovskoy & Parin 2019    maris, sea; rubrus, red, referring to the Red Sea, where it is endemic

Subgenus Maculocoetus Whitley & Colefax 1938    maculo-, spotted, presumably referring to large black spot on dorsal fin and/or large dark spots on pectoral fins of C. suttoni; coetus, etymology not explained, presumably short for Exocoetus

Cheilopogon atrisignis (Jenkins 1903)    atri-, black; signis, mark, referring to black spot on dorsal fin and/or black spots on anterior and posterior membranes of pectoral fins

Cheilopogon spilonotopterus (Bleeker 1865)    spilos, spot; notos, back; pterus, fin, referring to large brown spot on dorsal fin

Cheilopogon spilopterus (Valenciennes 1847)    spilos, spot; pterus, fin, referring to numerous brown or blackish spots on pectoral fins

Cheilopogon suttoni (Whitley & Colefax 1938)    in honor of Australian public-health physician Harvey Sutton (1882-1963), Director, School of Tropical Medicine, Sidney University (he also competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics in track and field)

Subgenus Paracypselurus Parin 1961    para-, near, proposed as a subgenus of Cypselurus

Cheilopogon papilio (Clark 1936)    butterfly, probably referring to “broad, wing-like” ventral fins, reminding Clark of William Beebe’s colored drawing of the “Butterflying Fish” published in 1926

Subgenus Procypsilurus Bruun 1935    pro-, before, forward or front, allusion not explained nor evident; Cypsilurus (=Cypselurus), proposed as a subgenus of that genus

Cheilopogon abei Parin 1996    in honor of “well-known” (translation) ichthyologist Tokiharu Abe (1911-1996), Tokyo University, who first reported this species, as C. katoptron, in 1956

Cheilopogon cyanopterus (Valenciennes 1847)    cyanos, blue; pterus, fin, referring to dark blue (almost black) pectoral fins

Cheilopogon dorsomacula (Fowler 1944)    dorsum, back; macula, spot or blotch, referring to large black blotch on hind part of dorsal fin

Cheilopogon exsiliens (Linnaeus 1771)    leaping out, referring to how it leaps out of the water and glides along the surface

Cheilopogon katoptron (Bleeker 1865)    Greek for mirror, allusion not explained, possibly referring to how its sides are silver (i.e., shiny) like a knife

Cheilopogon milleri (Gibbs & Staiger 1970)    in honor of George C. Miller, National Marine Fisheries Service, who collected type during a fishery survey in Liberia, and who made further “significant” collections, including only known barbeled juvenile, during cruise 6801 of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries research vessel Undaunted

Cheilopogon nigricans (Bennett 1840)    blackish, referring to black head and upper portion of body

Cheilopogon xenopterus (Gilbert 1890)    xenos, strange or different; pterus, fin, allusion not explained, probably referring to elongate pectoral fin, nearly reaching base of tail, and/or its uniformly black coloration without white markings

Subgenus Ptenichthys Müller 1843    ptenos, winged, referring to large pectoral fins (the “wings”); ichthys, fish

Cheilopogon arcticeps (Günther 1866)    arctus, narrow or straight; ceps, head, allusion not explained nor evident, perhaps referring to shape of head compared to closely related congeners

Cheilopogon doederleinii (Steindachner 1887)    in honor of German zoologist Ludwig Döderlein (1855-1936), formerly with the Imperial University at Tokyo, who collaborated with Steindachner in studying the fishes of Japan

Cheilopogon fisunovi Parin & Belyanina 1998    in honor of Georgy Kasyanovich Fisunov (or Fissunov, see Myctophum fissunovi in Myctophiformes: Myctophidae), a senior technician-oceanologist aboard the research vessel Vityaz; “he was very adept at catching fish with a cast net and caught thousands of flyingfish at light stations in all oceans” (translation)

Cheilopogon furcatus furcatus (Mitchill 1815)    forked, allusion not explained, probably referring to forked appearance of long, double barbels of juveniles (the main character Mitchill used to distinguish the species)

Cheilopogon furcatus neimani Parin & Belyanina 1998    in honor of V. G. Neiman, “well-known” (translation) researcher of hydrology of the Indian Ocean (where this subspecies occurs) and a participant in numerous oceanographic cruises

Cheilopogon heterurus (Rafinesque 1810)    heteros, different; oura, tailed, referring to lower lobe of caudal fin longer than the upper (a characteristic of the family)

Cheilopogon hubbsi Parin 1961    in honor of ichthyologist Carl L. Hubbs (1894-1979), who wrote about the early stages and development of this species (identified as Cypselurus sp.) in 1946

Cheilopogon intermedius Parin 1961    intermediate, referring to how presence of palatine teeth links the subgenus Ptenichthys with Procypselurus

Cheilopogon katherinae Shakhovskoy & Parin 2019    in honor of Katherine Elliott Bemis, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, for her “kind” help with the authors’ work on their review of this genus

Cheilopogon melanurus (Valenciennes 1847)    melanos, black; oura, tailed, referring to black spot at base of caudal fin

Cheilopogon olgae Parin 2009    in honor of Parin’s wife and assistant, Olga Vladimirovna Parina

Cheilopogon unicolor (Valenciennes 1847)    uni-, one, referring to uniform purplish-gray color of pectoral fins, lacking white spot and border of Hirundichthys speculiger, its presumed congener at the time

Cheilopogon ventralis (Nichols & Breder 1935)    ventral, referring to large black ventral fins of juveniles, its “most striking character”

Subgenus Incertae sedis

Cheilopogon pitcairnensis (Nichols & Breder 1935)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Pitcairn Island, South Pacific, type locality

Cypselurus Swainson 1838    kypselos, swallow (bird), allusion not explained, possibly alluding to Pliny, who called the flyingfish Hirundo (ancient name and current genus name for swallows), for it “flieth truly almost in the same manner as the bird so called,” and/or to Swainson’s own description of flyingfish flight, which, “although short, is very rapid,—almost as much so as that of a swallow”; oura, tail, allusion not explained, possibly referring to how their forked tails are analogous to those of a swallow, in which the power of flight is at its “maximum when the tail, also, is forked: the common house swallow shows this in perfection” [originally spelled “Cypsilurus” but ICZN Opinion 26 ruled this was an error]

Subgenus Cypselurus

Cypselurus angusticeps Nichols & Breder 1935    angustus, narrow; ceps, head, “narrow and pointed for this genus”

Cypselurus comatus (Mitchill 1815)    long-haired, referring to long chin barbel of juveniles

Cypselurus hiraii Abe 1953    in honor of Masaji Hirai, Manazuru Branch of Tokaiku Suisan Kenkujo (Kanakawa Prefecture, Japan), who has been collecting fishes for Abe for the past few years, and collected a “fine specimen of the young” of this species in summer 1952

Cypselurus naresii (Günther 1889)    patronym not identified but probably in honor of George Strong Nares (1831-1915), British naval officer and captain of the Challenger expedition (1872-1876), during which type was collected

Cypselurus opisthopus (Bleeker 1865)    opistho-, behind; pous, foot, referring to posterior placement of ventral (or pelvic) fins, closer to tail than to gill openings

Subgenus Poecilocypsilurus Bruun 1935    poecilio-, varicolored, probably referring to colorful pectoral fins of C. callopterus and/or C. poecilopterus

Cypselurus bosha Shakhovskoy & Parin 2019    in honor of Boris Vladimirovich Shakhovskoy, father of the senior author, who provided significant material and technical assistance; name is formed by a combination of the first syllables of his forename and surname

Cypselurus callopterus (Günther 1866)    callo-, beautiful; pterus, fin, presumably referring to numerous small roundish blackish-brown spots on pectoral fins (its “wings”), with upper and lower rays whitish

Cypselurus clariangulatus Shakhovskoy & Parin 2022    clarus, clear; angulatus, cornered, referring to unpigmented inner corner of pelvic fins in juveniles, its main diagnostic character

Cypselurus hexazona (Bleeker 1853)    hexa-, six; zonatus, banded, referring to six transverse bands on body of juveniles [species inquirenda, provisionally included here; Bleeker’s description and the one museum specimen do not match any known forms]

Cypselurus izumii Shakhovskoy & Parin 2022    in honor of the “famous” Japanese ichthyologist Izumi Nakamura, who, while participating in cruises of R/V Shoyo Maru, collected all specimens of this species examined buy the authors

Cypselurus neglectus neglectus (Bleeker 1865)    Latin for overlooked, referring to how Bleeker overlooked this species by keeping it in the same jar as C. o. oligolepis

Cypselurus neglectus shcherbachevi Shakhovskoy & Parin 2022    in honor of the late Yurij Nikolaevitch Shcherbachev, a “dear colleague,” for his many years of studying fishes at the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences

Cypselurus nossibe Shakhovskoy & Parin 2022    named after Nossi-Be Island, Madagascar, near which several specimens (including holotype) were collected

Cypselurus oligolepis oligolepis (Bleeker 1865)    oligo-, few; lepis, scales, referring to 40 scales along lateral line, compared to upwards of 50 among presumed congeners in Exocoetus

Cypselurus oligolepis apus (Valenciennes 1847)    a-, without; pous, feet, alluding to the Common Swift, Hirundo (now Apus) apus (thought by the ancients to be a type of swallow with no feet), allusion not explained but clearly echoing Pliny, who called the flyingfish Hirundo (ancient name and current genus name for swallows), for it “flieth truly almost in the same manner as the bird so called” [although apus predates the nominate subspecies, the name had not been used as a valid name since 1899 and therefore can be regarded as a nomen oblitum, whereas oligolepis, a junior synonym, has been commonly used and therefore takes precedence as a nomen protectum; as of 2022, the two taxa are regarded as subspecies of a single species, in which case the younger nomen protectum becomes the nominate taxon]

Cypselurus oligolepis georgii Shakhovskoy & Parin 2022    in honor of Georgy B. Shakhvskoy, a brother of the senior author, who was “very helpful” in in preparing the figures

Cypselurus oligolepis persicus Shakhovskoy & Parin 2022   icus, belonging to: Persia, referring to its distribution mainly in the Persian Gulf

Cypselurus olpar Shakhovskoy & Parin 2019    in honor of Olga Vladimirovna Parina (wife of junior author), who provided both authors with “great help and moral support” during their work; name is formed by a combination of the first two letters of her forename and the first three letters of her surname

Cypselurus poecilopterus poecilopterus (Valenciennes 1847)    poecilio-, varicolored; pterus, fin, referring to greenish pectoral fins speckled with a large number of round, irregular brown spots (described as sienna, but darker in the middle)

Cypselurus poecilopterus arabicus Shakhovskoy & Parin 2022    –icus, belonging to: Arabia, referring to its distribution mainly in the waters of Arabia and in the Arabian Sea

Cypselurus poecilopterus crassus Shakhovskoy & Parin 2022    Latin for stout, referring to the “extremely” wide and deep body of juveniles

Cypselurus simus (Valenciennes 1847)     blunt-nosed, referring to its “short, rounded, bulging” snout (translation)

Cypselurus starksi Abe 1953    in honor of the late Edwin Chapin Starks (1867-1932), Stanford University, who reported this species as Cypselurus (now Cheilopogon) agoo in 1903

Hirundichthys Breder 1928    Hirundo, a genus of swallows, allusion not explained but probably alluding to Pliny, who called the flyingfish Hirundo (ancient name and current genus name for swallows), for it “flieth truly almost in the same manner as the bird so called”; ichthys, fish

Subgenus Hirundichthys

Hirundichthys affinis (Günther 1866)    allied, described as “Closely allied” to H. speculiger

Hirundichthys coromandelensis (Hornell 1923)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Coromandel Coast, southeastern India, type locality

Hirundichthys indicus indicus Shakhovskoy & Parin 2013    Indian, referring to Indian Ocean, where it is endemic

Hirundichthys indicus orientalis Shakhovskoy & Parin 2013    eastern, referring to distribution in eastern Indian Ocean

Hirundichthys oxycephalus oxycephalus (Bleeker 1853)    oxy, sharp; cephalus, head, referring to more tapered head compared to Cheilopogon unicolor, its presumed congener at the time

Hirundichthys oxycephalus frereensis Shakhovskoy & Parin 2013    ensis, suffix denoting place: 10 miles northeast of Cape Frere (Goodnough Bay), New Guinea, where only known specimen was taken [name is technically unavailable since authors did not indicate a holotype]

Hirundichthys speculiger (Valenciennes 1847)    speculum, mirror; –iger, to bear, referring to large white spot on top of dark-blue or almost black pectoral fins, which Valenciennes compared to the “mirror of the wing of a large number of palmipeds” (translation), a mirror being a white spot or bar with dark outer portion of outer primaries of a gull’s wing

Subgenus Danichthys Bruun 1934    Dan, presumably named for the Dana fishery research cruises, whose collections confirmed Günther’s (1868) belief that Exocoetus volitans and E. obtusirostris represent distinct species; ichthys, fish

Hirundichthys albimaculatus (Fowler 1934)    albus, white; maculata, spotted, referring to broad whitish basal area on each pectoral fin

Hirundichthys gilberti (Snyder 1904)    in honor of ichthyologist and fisheries biologist Charles H. Gilbert (1859-1928), who had “immediate supervision of the zoological work” of fishes collected from the steamer Albatross in 1902, including this one

Hirundichthys marginatus (Nichols & Breder 1928)    edged or bordered, referring to narrow dark borders on pectoral fins of juveniles

Hirundichthys rondeletii (Valenciennes 1847)    in honor of physician-naturalist Guillaume Rondelet (1507-1566), who illustrated what appeared to be this species in his Libri de piscibus marinis (1554-55)

Hirundichthys rufipinnis (Valenciennes 1847)    rufinus, rufous or rosy; pinnis, fin, referring to “russet brown or chocolate-white” (translation) upper surface of pectoral fins and/or reddish tail

Hirundichthys volador (Jordan 1884)    Spanish for flying and Spanish name by which some flyingfishes are known

Prognichthys Breder 1928    Progne, a genus of swallows (the martins), allusion not explained but probably alluding to Pliny, who called the flyingfish Hirundo (ancient name and current genus name for swallows), for it “flieth truly almost in the same manner as the bird so called”; ichthys, fish

Prognichthys brevipinnis (Valenciennes 1847)    brevis, short; pinnis, fin, referring to shorter pectoral and ventral fins compared to other flyingfishes in Valenciennes’ account of the family

Prognichthys gibbifrons (Valenciennes 1847)    gibbus, hump; frons, forehead, referring to protruding forehead

Prognichthys glaphyrae Parin 1999    in honor of Glafira Nikiforovna (Tanya) Pokhil’skaya, who worked in the Department of Nekton and Laboratory of Oceanic Ichthyofauna (Russian Academy of Sciences) from 1948-1990; Parin has used her “high-quality” (translation) illustrations in many of his papers

Prognichthys occidentalis Parin 1999    western, referring to distribution in western Atlantic Ocean

Prognichthys sealei Abe 1955    in honor of ichthyologist Alvin Seale (1871-1958), Stanford University, who reported this flyingfish as Cypselurus zaca (=P. brevipinnis) in 1935

Prognichthys tringa Breder 1928    Tringa, a genus of sandpipers with a “not dissimilar wing shape”


Family HEMIRAMPHIDAE Halfbeaks
9 genera/subgenera · 64 species/subspecies

Arrhamphus Günther 1866    ar-, not, i.e., similar to Hemiramphus (which Günther spelled as “Hemirhamphus”) except that lower jaw is not produced into a beak

Arrhamphus sclerolepis sclerolepis Günther 1866    sclero-, hard; lepis, scale, presumably referring to its “rather large” scales and/or scaled upper surface of head (except for intermaxillaries)

Arrhamphus sclerolepis krefti Steindachner 1867    patronym not identified but probably in honor of Johann Ludwig (Louis) Gerard Krefft (1830-1881), Australian zoologist and paleontologist (this subspecies is endemic to Australia) [Steindachner spelled the name with one “f”; since he did not explicitly name Krefft in the description, emendment to “kreffti” is not required]

Chriodorus Goode & Bean 1882    chreia, want or need (i.e., lack); dorus, lance, referring to both jaws very short, unlike produced lower jaw of Hemirhamphus

Chriodorus atherinoides Goode & Bean 1882    oides, having the form of: referring to bright silvery lateral band as in the silverside genus Atherina (Atheriniformes: Atherinidae)

Euleptorhamphus Gill 1859    eu-, very and leptos, slender, presumably referring to much more slender and greatly compressed body and/or much longer beak compared to Hemirhamphus

Euleptorhamphus velox Poey 1868    swift, allusion not explained, probably referring to its extremely elongate and slender body

Euleptorhamphus viridis (van Hasselt 1823)    green, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to iridescent blue-green back in life

Hemiramphus Cuvier 1816    hemi-, half; rhamphus, beak, referring to lower jaw prolonged into a slender beak, i.e., possessing half a beak

Hemiramphus archipelagicus Collette & Parin 1978    icus, belonging to: referring to center of distribution around islands of the Indo-Australian Archipelago

Hemiramphus balao Lesueur 1821    Balaó, a common Spanish name for species of this genus, from bailar, meaning to leap or dance

Hemiramphus bermudensis Collette 1962    ensis, suffix denoting place: waters surrounding Bermuda, where it appears to be endemic

Hemiramphus brasiliensis (Linnaeus 1758)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Brazil, based in part on a description from Marcgrave’s Historia Naturalis Brasiliae (1648); species occurs along both Atlantic coasts (to Brazil in the eastern Atlantic) and the Caribbean

Hemiramphus convexus Weber & de Beaufort 1922    rounded or curving out, referring to convex interorbital space

Hemiramphus depauperatus Lay & Bennett 1839    imperfectly developed, presumably referring to how middle body of type specimen had been “cut away”

Hemiramphus far (Forsskål 1775)    Arabic vernacular for this species, described from the Red Sea of Yemen

Hemiramphus lutkei Valenciennes 1847    patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of German navigator and geographer Frédéric Benjamin Lütke (1797-1882), whose 1826-29 voyage around the globe provided illustrations of several fish species, including this one

Hemiramphus marginatus (Forsskål 1775)    edged or bordered, probably referring to midlateral silvery stripe edged dorsally in dark green

Hemiramphus robustus Günther 1866    fat or stout, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to triangular part of upper jaw, which is wider relative to length compared to some congeners

Hemiramphus saltator Gilbert & Starks 1904    Latin for dancer, previously reported as H. balao, from Balaó, a common Spanish name for species of this genus, from bailar, meaning to leap or dance                          

Hyporhamphus Gill 1859    hypo-, below; rhamphus, beak, referring to lower jaw prolonged into a slender beak

Subgenus Hyporhamphus

Hyporhamphus brederi (Fernández-Yépez 1948)    in honor of ichthyologist Charles M. Breder Jr. (1897-1983), American Museum of Natural History, for “cooperation in the knowledge” (translation) of beloniform fishes [originally spelled “breederi” consistent with Fernández-Yépez’ misspelling of the name, but “brederi” is in prevailing usage]

Hyporhamphus capensis (Thominot 1886)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, type locality

Hyporhamphus collettei Banford 2010    in honor of Bruce B. Collette (b. 1934), Senior Scientist, National Marine Fisheries Service Systematics Laboratory, “eminent ichthyologist who has greatly increased our understanding of the taxonomy and systematics of fishes, particularly beloniform fishes”; he also “pioneered” the study of endemism in Bermudian shore fishes, such as this one, in 1962

Hyporhamphus gernaerti (Valenciennes 1847)    in honor of Benoit Gernaert (ca. 1797-1843), French Consul in Macao (or Macau), now a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, who provided type

Hyporhamphus gilli Meek & Hildebrand 1923    patronym not identified but probably in honor of Smithsonian zoologist Theodore Gill (1837-1914), who proposed the genus in 1859

Hyporhamphus improvisus (Smith 1933)    unforeseen, unexpected or sudden, allusion not explained nor evident

Hyporhamphus intermedius (Cantor 1842)    intermediate, allusion not explained nor evident

Hyporhamphus limbatus (Valenciennes 1847)    edged or bordered, referring to unpaired fins finely edged in black

Hyporhamphus meeki Banford & Collette 1993    in honor of ichthyologist Seth Eugene Meek (1859-1914), who recognized that this species was distinct from H. unifasciatus in 1884 but misapplied the name H. roberti

Hyporhamphus melanopterus Collette & Parin 1978    melanos, black; pterus, fin, referring to diagnostic prominent black spots in lobes of dorsal and caudal fins

Hyporhamphus mexicanus Álvarez 1959    Mexican, referring to type locality in Oaxaca, México (also occurs in Guatemala)

Hyporhamphus naos Banford & Collette 2001    named for Naos Island, Bay of Panama, where this species is common and site of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) Marine Laboratory; since the 1960s, many studies of transisthmian geminate taxa have been conducted at STRI’s Naos lab

Hyporhamphus neglectissimus Parin, Collette & Shcherbachev 1980    most neglected or unnoticed, referring to how specimens were initially mixed and confused with H. neglectus, just as H. neglectus had been mixed with Hemiramphus gaimardi (=Hyporhamphus quoyi)

Hyporhamphus neglectus (Bleeker 1866)    neglected or unnoticed, referring to how Bleeker initially overlooked this species, preserved in the same jar as Hemiramphus gaimardi (=Hyporhamphus quoyi)

Hyporhamphus paucirastris Collette & Parin 1978    paucus, few; rastrum, rake or raker, referring to low number of gill rakers (19-21) on first arch

Hyporhamphus picarti (Valenciennes 1847)    in honor of M. (Monsieur?) Picart (no other information available), who brought “several curious molluscs and annelids to the King’s Cabinet” and probably this species from the harbor of Cádiz (Spain)

Hyporhamphus regularis regularis (Günther 1866)    regular, i.e., according to rule, allusion not explained nor evident

Hyporhamphus regularis ardelio Whitley 1931    zealous person, busybody or meddler, allusion not explained; Whitley partly based his account on Stead (1908, Edible Fishes of New South Wales), who described the fish as occurring in “great abundance,” which might have been Whitley’s idea of meddler (D. Hoese, pers. comm.)

Hyporhamphus roberti roberti (Valenciennes 1847)    in honor of M. (Monsieur?) Robert (no other information available) who collected type with M. Poiteau, probably French botanist Pierre-Antoine Poiteau (1766-1854), in Cayenne, French Guiana

Hyporhamphus roberti hildebrandi Jordan & Evermann 1927    in honor of Samuel F. Hildebrand (1883-1949), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who collected type with Seth Eugene Meek (see H. meeki)

Hyporhamphus rosae (Jordan & Gilbert 1880)    in honor of Rosa Smith (1858-1947) of San Diego (California, USA), later wife of ichthyologist Carl H. Eigenmann, “who has given much attention to ichthyology, and to whom the National Museum [Smithsonian] is indebted for many specimens of San Diego fishes” (including possibly this one)

Hyporhamphus sajori (Temminck & Schlegel 1846)    common name for this species in 19th-century Japan

Hyporhamphus sindensis (Regan 1905)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Sindh province of Pakistan, referring to type locality at Karachi

Hyporhamphus snyderi Meek & Hildebrand 1923    patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of ichthyologist John Otterbein Snyder (1867-1943)

Hyporhamphus taiwanensis Collette & Su 1986    ensis, suffix denoting place: Taiwan, where it is endemic

Hyporhamphus unicuspis Collette & Parin 1978    referring to predominantly unicuspid teeth on both jaws

Hyporhamphus unifasciatus (Ranzani 1841)    uni-, one or single; fasciatus, banded, referring to silvery line running from eye to caudal peduncle

Hyporhamphus xanthopterus (Valenciennes 1847)    xantho-, yellow; pterus, fin, referring to “lemon yellow” (translation) unpaired fins

Subgenus Reporhamphus Whitley 1931    etymology not explained, perhaps repium, incline downwards; rhamphus, beak, possibly referring to what could be perceived as a slight downward slope in prolonged lower jaw of some specimens of H. australis

Hyporhamphus acutus (Günther 1872)    sharp or pointed, allusion not explained, probably referring to long, slender beak (lower jaw)

Hyporhamphus affinis (Günther 1866)    related, “Closely allied to H. dussumierii, but with the head narrower”

Hyporhamphus australis (Steindachner 1866)    southern or Australian, referring to type locality, Port Jackson, New South Wales, Australia

Hyporhamphus balinensis (Bleeker 1858)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Bali, Indonesia, type locality (but occurs elsewhere in the Red Sea and Indo-West Pacific)

Hyporhamphus dussumieri (Valenciennes 1847)    in honor of Jean-Jacques Dussumier (1792-1883), French voyager and merchant who collected zoological specimens from southeastern Asia and the Indian Ocean, and reported on this species

Hyporhamphus erythrorinchus (Lesueur 1821)    erythros, red; rhynchus, snout, allusion not explained, probably referring to bright red or orange at tip of lower jaw

Hyporhamphus gamberur (Rüppell 1837)    from Massaua Gamberur, its local name along the Red Sea

Hyporhamphus ihi Phillipps 1932    Maori name for this halfbeak in New Zealand as reported by Phillipps (Maori spelling is now ihe per Robert Vennell, pers. comm.)

Hyporhamphus melanochir (Valenciennes 1847)    melanos, black; cheiros, hand, referring to “black hues” (translation) of pectoral fins

Hyporhamphus pacificus (Steindachner 1900)    Pacific, described from the Hawaiian Islands (also occurs at Johnston Atoll) of the Central Pacific

Hyporhamphus quoyi (Valenciennes 1847)    in honor of surgeon-naturalist Jean René Constant Quoy (1790-1869), who, with Joseph Paul Gaimard (1793-1858), collected type

Hyporhamphus yuri Collette & Parin 1978    in honor of ichthyologist Yuri Nikolayevich Shcherbachev (Institute of Oceanology, Academy of Sciences of the USSR), for his assistance with the authors’ review of halfbeaks of the Indo-West Pacific [a noun in apposition, without the patronymic “i”)

Melapedalion Fowler 1934    melas, black; pedalion, rudder, referring to black-tipped vertical fins

Melapedalion breve (Seale 1910)    short, presumably referring to “extremely short” beak (lower jaw)

Oxyporhamphus Gill 1864    oxyp[ages], sharp-pointed; rhamphus, beak, referring to “acutely cuspidate” lower jaw of O. cuspidatus (=micropterus)

Oxyporhamphus bruuni Parin, Collette & Shcherbachev 1980    patronym not identified but clearly in honor of Danish oceanographer and ichthyologist Anton Frederick Bruun (1901-1961), author of a 1935 monograph on flying fishes, in which O. similis was described

Oxyporhamphus micropterus (Valenciennes 1847)    micro-, small; pterus, fin, referring to shorter fins compared to presumed congeners in the flyingfish genus Exocoetus (Exocoetidae)

Oxyporhamphus similis Bruun 1935    similar, proposed as an Atlantic subspecies of the Indo-Malayan O. micropterus

Rhynchorhamphus Fowler 1928    rhynchus, snout; rhamphus, beak, referring to snout and beak (lower jaw), both elongated

Rhynchorhamphus arabicus Parin & Shcherbachev 1972    Arabian, referring to its occurrence in southern Yemeni waters

Rhynchorhamphus georgii (Valenciennes 1847)    in honor of M. (Monsieur) Dussumier, presumably Jean-Jacques Dussumier (1792-1883), French voyager and merchant who collected zoological specimens from southeastern Asia and the Indian Ocean and provided holotype of this one; Valenciennes honored Dussumier three times in the same volume, including Hemiramphus (now Hyporhamphus) dussumieri and Exocoetus georgianus (=monocirrhus), inexplicably giving Dussumier’s first name as “George”

Rhynchorhamphus malabaricus Collette 1976    icus, belonging to: Malabar Coast of India, where the first specimens Collette examined were from

Rhynchorhamphus naga Collette 1976    named after the Naga Expedition to the Gulf of Thailand and South China Sea, during which most of the fresh material was collected from 1959-1961


Family ZENARCHOPTERIDAE Viviparous Halfbeaks
5 genera · 64 species/subspecies

Dermogenys Kuhl & van Hasselt 1823    dermo-, skin; genys, cheek, referring to folds of skin bordering along each side beak

Dermogenys bispina Meisner & Collette 1998    bi-, two; spina, spined, referring to second set of paired spines at distal tip of spiculus (lanceolate structure at end of andropodium, the modified intromittent anal fin of mature males)

Dermogenys brachynotopterus (Bleeker 1853)    brachys, short; notos, back; pterus, fin, referring to dorsal fin shorter than anal fin

Dermogenys bruneiensis Meisner 2001    ensis, suffix denoting place: Brunei Darussalam, island of Borneo, where it is endemic

Dermogenys burmanica Mukerji 1935    icus, belonging to: Burma (Myanmar), where type locality is situated (also occurs in Bangladesh)

Dermogenys collettei Meisner 2001    in honor of Bruce B. Collette (b. 1934), Senior Scientist, National Marine Fisheries Service Systematics Laboratory, who “brought the problem of halfbeak taxonomy” to Meisner’s attention

Dermogenys orientalis (Weber 1894)    eastern, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its Indo-Australian distribution (Sulawesi, Indonesia) compared to its western (African) presumed congeners in Hemiramphus

Dermogenys palawanensis Meisner 2001    ensis, suffix denoting place: Palawan, Philippines, where it is endemic

Dermogenys pusilla Kuhl & van Hasselt 1823    very small, allusion not explained but probably referring to its size (up to 16.1 cm TL) compared to the hemirhamphid Euleptorhamphus viridis (53.0 cm TL) proposed in the same paper

Dermogenys robertsi Meisner 2001    in honor of ichthyologist Tyson R. Roberts (b. 1940), “Southeast Asian fish expert who provided specimens from his private collection” for Meisner’s study

Dermogenys siamensis Fowler 1934    ensis, suffix denoting place, Siam (Thailand), where type locality is situated (also occurs in Viêt Nam and Cambodia)

Dermogenys sumatrana (Bleeker 1854)    Sumatran, referring to Sumatra, Indonesia, where type locality (Lake Maninjau) is situated (also occurs in Kalimantan Barat)

Dermogenys vogti Brembach 1982    in honor of German aquarium writer and editor Dieter Vogt (b. 1933), who collected type

Hemirhamphodon Bleeker 1865    odon, tooth, i.e., similar to Hemiramphus but with anteriorly directed teeth along entire length of lower jaw

Hemirhamphodon byssus Tan & Lim 2013    fine thread, referring to distinct filamentous dorsal-fin rays of large males

Hemirhamphodon chrysopunctatus Brembach 1978    chrysos, gold; punctatus, spotted, referring to a series of golden spots on sides of larger adults

Hemirhamphodon kapuasensis Collette 1991    ensis, suffix denoting place: Kapuas River basin (Kalimantan Barat, Borneo, Indonesia), where it is endemic

Hemirhamphodon kecil Tan & Lim 2013    Bahasa Indonesian word meaning small, referring to its diminutive size (up to 41 mm SL)

Hemirhamphodon kuekenthali Steindachner 1901    in honor of German zoologist Willy Georg Kükenthal (1861-1922), who led expedition to Borneo during which type was collected

Hemirhamphodon phaiosoma (Bleeker 1852)    phaios, dusky brown; soma, body, referring to body coloration

Hemirhamphodon pogonognathus (Bleeker 1853)    pogonos, beard; gnathus, jaw, referring to fleshy red growth that curves downwards from tip of beak (lower jaw)

Hemirhamphodon sesamum Tan & Lim 2013    named for minute oily seeds of the Sesamum plant (Pedaliaceae), alluding to small black spots/dashes on dorsal fin which resemble black sesame seeds

Hemirhamphodon tengah Collette 1991    named for Kalimantan Tengah, central province of Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia, where most specimens were collected

Nomorhamphus Weber & de Beaufort 1922    etymology not explained, perhaps nomos, custom or tradition; rhamphus, beak, perhaps referring to how jaws of this genus, which are nearly equal length (lower jaw projects slightly), is more “traditional” compared to Dermogenys, in which lower jaw is produced into a beak

Nomorhamphus aenigma Kobayashi, Masengi & Yamahira 2020    Greek for riddle, referring to riddle raised by this “beakless” halfbeak: “Why are the mandibles of most halfbeaks long?’’ (hypothesis: neuromasts on elongate jaws may help surface-dwelling halfbeaks locate food, particularly falling insects; this species, however, swims in the middle and lower areas unlike the sympatric N. rex and therefore may have evolved short jaws as ecological character displacement)

Nomorhamphus bakeri (Fowler & Bean 1922)    in honor of Frederick Baker (1854-1938), American physician, naturalist and amateur malacologist (San Diego, California), who collected type

Nomorhamphus brembachi Vogt 1978    in honor of biologist Manfred Brembach (b. 1949), for his many contributions to the knowledge of Hemiramphidae (presumed family at the time)

Nomorhamphus celebensis Weber & de Beaufort 1922    ensis, suffix denoting place: Celebes (now Sulawesi), where it is endemic

Nomorhamphus ebrardtii (Popta 1912)    in honor of Privy Councillor Ebrardt, possibly Friedrich Clemens Ebrardt (also spelled Ebrard, 1850-1935), honorary member of Geographische und Statistische Vereinigung Frankfurt, which mounted 1911 expedition to Lesser Sunda Islands, during which type was collected

Nomorhamphus hageni (Popta 1912)    patronym not identified but probably in honor of German physician and amateur naturalist Bernhard Hagen (1853-1919), member of 1911 expedition to the Lesser Sunda islands, during which type was collected

Nomorhamphus kolonodalensis Meisner & Louie 2000    ensis, suffix denoting place: Kolonodale region of Sulawesi, Indonesia, where most specimens were collected

Nomorhamphus lanceolatus Huylebrouck, Hadiaty & Herder 2014    lanceolate, referring to shape of spiculus, structure at end of andropodium, the modified intromittent anal fin of mature males

Nomorhamphus liemi Vogt 1978    in honor of Vogt’s “longtime friend” (translation) in Indonesia, Dr. Dig Liem (presumably an aquarist and/or fish collector)

Nomorhamphus manifestus Meisner 2001    clear or distinct, but Meisner says it means “unadorned,” referring to lack of distinctive body pigmentation

Nomorhamphus megarrhamphus (Brembach 1982)    mega-, large; rhampus, beak, referring to “remarkably” (translation) long beak (lower jaw), 6.3 times in TL [we do not know why spelling has an extra “r”]

Nomorhamphus pectoralis (Fowler 1934)    pectoral, referring to large pectoral fins, which extends far back as ventral fin

Nomorhamphus philippinus (Ladiges 1972)    Filipino, referring to the Philippine Islands, where it is known only from Cebu and Mindanao

Nomorhamphus pinnimaculatus Meisner 2001    pinna, fin; maculatus, spotted, referring to diagnostic black spot on anterior anal-fin rays in the female and dorsal-fin rays in males

Nomorhamphus rex Huylebrouck, Hadiaty & Herder 2012    a king, referring to its teeth, “reminiscent of the dentition of the late Cretaceous Tyrannosaurus rex

Nomorhamphus rossi Meisner 2001    in honor of herpetologist Charles “Andy” Ross (1953-2011), who collected all the specimens

Nomorhamphus sagittarius Huylebrouck, Hadiaty & Herder 2014    an archer, referring to body shape, “reminiscent of the shape of an arrow”

Nomorhamphus towoetii Ladiges 1972    of Towoeti (or Towuti) Lake, Sulawesi, Indonesia, type locality (also occurs in Lake Poso)

Nomorhamphus versicolor Kraemer, Hadiaty & Herder 2019    colorful or iridescent, referring to its “remarkable colorfulness,” with “prismatic colors, ranging from shades of yellow and orange to purple and blue” on sides and belly, a bright-yellow spot between pelvic fin and genital papilla, and orange or reddish dorsal and anal fins

Nomorhamphus viviparus viviparus (Peters 1865)    livebearing, like other members of the family

Nomorhamphus viviparus mindanensis Herre 1944    ensis, suffix denoting place: Mindanao, Philippines, where type locality (outlet of Lake Mainit) is situated

Nomorhamphus weberi (Boulenger 1897)    in honor of ichthyologist Max Weber (1852-1937), who “most ably dealt” with the fishes of Celebes (Sulawesi) in an 1894 publication

Tondanichthys Collette 1995    Tondano, referring to Lake Tondano, Sulawesi Utara, Indonesia, where it appears to be endemic; ichthys, fish

Tondanichthys kottelati Collette 1995    in honor of Swiss ichthyologist Maurice Kottelat (b. 1957), “southeast Asian fish expert, whose help made this project possible” (also editor of journal in which description appeared)

Zenarchopterus Gill 1864    etymology not explained, perhaps zen, latinization of the Greek xen, strange or different; archus, anal; pterus, fin, referring to “thickened” rays of anal fin of Z. dispar males (some online sources indicate first part of name is derived from “zao, to give life,” but is not clear whether Gill knew the modified anal-fin rays [andropodium] is an intromittent organ)

Zenarchopterus alleni Collette 1982    in honor of ichthyologist Gerald R. Allen (b. 1942), Western Australia Museum (Perth), who brought the “unique” holotype to Collette’s attention and who has collected and described many new fish species from New Guinea

Zenarchopterus buffonis (Valenciennes 1847)    is, genitive singular of: Buffon, ship owned by Jean-Jacques Dussumier (1792-1883), French voyager and merchant who collected zoological specimens from southeastern Asia and the Indian Ocean, from which type was collected

Zenarchopterus caudovittatus (Weber 1907)    cauda-, tail; vittatus, banded, referring to black stripe on tail

Zenarchopterus clarus Mohr 1926    bright, distinct or clear, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its yellowish-white coloration, which could be perceived as brighter than congeners known to Mohr (Ronald Fricke, pers. comm.)

Zenarchopterus cotnog (Smith 1902)    local name for this species in the Bicol region of Luzon Island, Philippines, type locality

Zenarchopterus dispar (Valenciennes 1847)    dissimilar, referring to unusual anal fin of males, strikingly different from male anal fins of presumed congeners in Hemiramphus (Valenciennes was apparently unaware that modified anal-fin rays [andropodium] is an intromittent organ)

Zenarchopterus dunckeri Mohr 1926    in honor of Mohr’s friend, ichthyologist Georg Duncker (1870-1953), Zoologisches Museum Hamburg, whose support accelerated the progress of Mohr’s work

Zenarchopterus dux Seale 1910    leader (i.e., prince or ruler), allusion not explained nor evident

Zenarchopterus ectuntio (Hamilton 1822)    presumably local Bengali name for this species in India

Zenarchopterus gilli Smith 1945    in memory of Smithsonian zoologist Theodore Gill (1837-1914), who proposed the genus in 1864

Zenarchopterus kampeni (Weber 1913)    in honor of herpetologist Pieter Nicolaas van Kampen (1878-1937), member of 1907-1909 New Guinea expedition, during which type was collected

Zenarchopterus novaeguineae (Weber 1913)    of New Guinea, where type locality (Lorentz River) is situated (also occurs in northern Australia)

Zenarchopterus ornithocephala Collette 1985    ornithos, bird; cephala, head, named for Vogelkop (birdhead) Peninsula, Irian Jaya, Indonesia, where it appears to be endemic

Zenarchopterus pappenheimi Mohr 1926    in honor of Paul Pappenheim (1878-1945), curator of fishes, Royal Museum of Berlin, who provided Mohr with all of the museum’s zenarchopterid specimens for study

Zenarchopterus philippinus (Peters 1868)    Filipino, referring to the Philippine Islands, where it appears to be endemic

Zenarchopterus quadrimaculatus Mohr 1926    quadri-, fourfold; maculatus, spotted, presumably referring to large spots on upper body, two on each side

Zenarchopterus rasori (Popta 1912)    in honor of August Rasor, treasurer of Geographische und Statistische Vereinigung Frankfurt, which mounted 1911 expedition to Lesser Sunda Islands, during which type was collected

Zenarchopterus robertsi Collette 1982    in honor of ichthyologist Tyson R. Roberts (b. 1940), who collected this and many other new fish species in New Guinea

Zenarchopterus striga (Blyth 1858)    swath (strip or belt), presumably referring to narrow silvery stripe on side, “little perceptible, excepting towards the tail, where [it is] broader and distinct”

Zenarchopterus xiphophorus Mohr 1934    xiphos, sword or saber; phorus, to bear, referring to sword-like extension on anal fin of males


Family BELONIDAE Needlefishes
10 genera · 47 species/subspecies

Ablennes Jordan & Fordice 1887    Ablennes (a-, without; blennos, mucus), per Jordan & Evermann (1896) a name applied by some Medieval authors to Belone acus (originally and inadvertently spelled “Athlennes,” which Jordan felt obliged to retain, but spelling was formally corrected by ICZN Opinion 41)

Ablennes hians (Valenciennes 1846)    gaping, referring to upper jaw strongly arched upward at base so that mouth cannot be closed

Belone Cuvier 1816    tautonymous with Esox belone

Belone acus Risso 1827    Latin for needle, being an ancient name for a needlefish (originally referring to the Greater Pipefish, Syngnathus acus)

Belone belone (Linnaeus 1760)    Greek for needle, being an ancient name for a needlefish (originally referring to the Greater Pipefish, Syngnathus acus)

Belone svetovidovi Collette & Parin 1970    in honor of colleague Anatolii Nikolaevich Svetovidov (1903-1985), Zoological Institute (Saint Petersburg, Russia), the first reviser of the genus

Belonion Collette 1966    diminutive of belone, needle, referring to small size of both species (reproductive maturity attained at ~25 mm BL)

Belonion apodion Collette 1966    a-, without; podos, foot, referring to absence of pelvic fins and girdle

Belonion dibranchodon Collette 1966    di-, two; branchos, gill; odon, tooth, referring to two pairs of toothed upper pharyngeal bones

Petalichthys Regan 1904    petal, leaf or thin metal plate, allusion not explained, possibly referring to strongly compressed body; ichthys, fish

Petalichthys capensis Regan 1904    ensis, suffix denoting place: Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, where type locality (Port Elizabeth) is situated, or to Cape of Good Hope area in general

Platybelone Fowler 1919    proposed as a subgenus of Belone, referring to wide or broad (platy) caudal peduncle of P. platyura, its width greater than its depth                               

Platybelone argalus argalus (Lesueur 1821)    etymology not explained, perhaps from the Greek argaleos, troublesome, difficult or vexatious, possibly referring to how “species of this genus [then recognized as Belone] are not yet well distinguished, that they resemble each other so much, and present at first view so little difference that they all might apparently be embraced in the same description; that those who had observed them had been deceived by neglecting to obtain drawings, by which it would have been easy to observe their differences in a manner more sensible and more exact”; name could also allude to its association with the dangerous Tylosurus crocodilus, its presumed congener at the time and described in the same paper

Platybelone argalus annobonensis Collette & Parin 1970    ensis, suffix denoting place: Annobón Island, Equatorial Guinea, type locality

Platybelone argalus pterura (Osburn & Nichols 1916)    pteron, fin; oura, tailed; referring to “much depressed” caudal peduncle, its width (with large lateral keels) slightly more than twice its depth

Platybelone lovii (Günther 1866)    in honor of British biologist-clergyman Richard Thomas Lowe (1802-1874), who presented type to the British Museum                            

Platybelone platura (Rüppell 1837)    etymology not explained, probably platy, flat and oura, tailed, referring to strongly depressed caudal peduncle       

Platybelone platyura (Bennett 1832)    platy, broad; oura, tailed, referring to strongly depressed caudal peduncle with large lateral keels    

Platybelone trachura (Valenciennes 1846)    trachy, rough; oura, tailed, presumably referring to scales on flat, lateral keels on caudal peduncle               

Potamorrhaphis Günther 1866    potamos, river, referring to freshwater habitat of Belone taeniata (=P. guianensis); rhaphis, needle, i.e., a freshwater needlefish

Potamorrhaphis eigenmanni Miranda Ribeiro 1915    in honor of ichthyologist Carl H. Eigenmann (1863-1927), who reported this species as P. guianensis in 1907

Potamorrhaphis guianensis (Jardine 1843)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Guyana, where type locality (Paduiri River) is situated (occurs elsewhere in Amazon and Orinoco River basins)

Potamorrhaphis labiata Sant’Anna, Delapieve & Reis 2012    large-lipped, referring to expanded labial membrane; this fragile skinfold is a lateral expansion of the membrane connecting premaxilla to dentary, which floats horizontally when fish is alive, but usually collapses and folds down when fish is preserved

Potamorrhaphis petersi Collette 1974    in honor of the late James A. Peters (1922-1972), Curator of Reptiles and Amphibians, Smithsonian Institution, who “directly aided” Collette’s studies of the South American genera Potamorrhaphis and Pseudotylosurus

Pseudotylosurus Fernández-Yépez 1948    pseudo-, false, i.e., although this genus may resemble Tylosurus, such an appearance is false

Pseudotylosurus angusticeps (Günther 1866)    angustus, narrow; ceps, head, referring to its “narrow, elongate” head

Pseudotylosurus microps (Günther 1866)    micro-, small; ops, eye, referring to smaller eye relative to length of postorbital portion of head compared to presumed congeners in Belone

Strongylura van Hasselt 1824    strongylos, round; oura, tailed, allusion not explained but probably referring to conspicuous round spot on tail of Belone (now Strongylura) strongylura [not strictly a tautonym since van Hasselt 1824 is a French translation of van Hasselt 1823, which is in Dutch; for reasons unexplained, the French version renamed Belone strongylura as Strongylura caudimaculata]

Strongylura anastomella (Valenciennes 1846)    etymology not explained, perhaps ana-, upward; stomus, mouth; –ella, a diminutive, perhaps referring to “small opening at base of beak” (translation)

Strongylura exilis (Girard 1854)    slender, referring to its “very slender and exiguous” body

Strongylura fluviatilis (Regan 1903)    of a river, referring to occurrence in freshwater rivers of northwest Ecuador (also occurs in Colombia)

Strongylura hubbsi Collette 1974    in honor of ichthyologist Carl L. Hubbs (1894-1979), for collecting the first specimens and on the occasion of his 80th birthday                      

Strongylura incisa (Valenciennes 1846)    notched, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to upper edge of suborbital, described as “deeply indented under the nostril” (translation) and/or deep longitudinal furrows on upper surface of beak                                 

Strongylura krefftii (Günther 1866)    in honor of Johann Ludwig (Louis) Gerard Krefft (1830-1881), Australian zoologist-paleontologist, who provided type                              

Strongylura leiurus (Bleeker 1850)    leios, smooth; oura, tail, referring to absence of lateral keels on caudal peduncle [name often spelled leiura, treated as an adjective (tailed), but Bleeker consistently used the Greek oura (Latinized as urus) as a noun]

Strongylura marina (Walbaum 1792)    of the sea, at the time presumed to be a marine inhabitant of the pike genus Esox (Esociformes: Esocidae)

Strongylura notata notata (Poey 1860)    marked, referring to posterior border of preoperculum broadly bordered with dark blue, forming a vertical band

Strongylura notata forsythia Breder 1932    ia, belonging to: Lake Forsyth, Andros Island, Bahamas, type locality (also occurs off southern Florida and Gulf of Mexico west to Mobile Bay, Alabama, USA)

Strongylura scapularis (Jordan & Gilbert 1882)    scapular, referring to large distinct rounded black spot above base of pectoral fin

Strongylura senegalensis (Valenciennes 1846)    ensis, suffix denoting place: Senegal, type locality (but occurs in the Eastern Atlantic as far south as Angola)                                   

Strongylura strongylura (van Hasselt 1823)    strongylos, round; oura, tailed, allusion not explained but probably referring to conspicuous round spot on tail

Strongylura timucu (Walbaum 1792)    local Brazilian name for needlefishes, apparently introduced into scientific literature by Marcgrave (1648)

Strongylura urvillii (Valenciennes 1846)    in honor of explorer Jules Sébastien César Dumont d’Urville (1790-1842), leader of Astrolabe expedition (1826-1829), during which type was collected, an “intrepid and unfortunate navigator whose death always bring back painful memories” (translation) [he was and his family were killed in a French railway disaster]

Tylosurus Cocco 1833    tylos, callus; oura, tail, referring to lateral keels on caudal peduncle

Tylosurus acus (Lacepède 1803)    Latin for needle, being an ancient name for a needlefish (originally referring to the Greater Pipefish, Syngnathus acus)

Tylosurus choram (Rüppell 1837)    Arabic name for needlefishes along the Red Sea (also known as charman)

Tylosurus crocodilus (Péron & Lesueur 1821)    like a crocodile, the “armature of its jaws renders it dangerous and deservedly feared by those who swim or bathe in the places which it frequents” [note: there are many contemporary accounts of this species stabbing people with its beak when it leaps from the water]

Tylosurus fodiator Jordan & Gilbert 1882    one who stabs, referring to its strong jaws, which are “dreaded” by the fishermen of Mazatlán, Sinaloa, México, who say that it is able to thrust through the bottom of a boat

Tylosurus gavialoides (Castelnau 1873)    oides, having the form of: gavial (or gharial, the fish-eating crocodile), allusion not explained but probably alluding to the same fearsomeness that inspired the name of T. crocodilus

Tylosurus imperialis (Rafinesque 1810)    of the empire or emperor (i.e., majestic), referring to Aguglia Imperialis (Imperial Needlefish), its common name in Sicily; according to Bonaparte’s Iconografia della fauna italica (puntata 82, published in 1836), “imperial” refers to its “most delicate” (translation) meat

Tylosurus melanotus (Bleeker 1850)    melanos, black; notus, back, referring to black dorsal fin

Tylosurus pacificus (Steindachner 1875)    ica, belonging to the Pacific Ocean, referring to distribution in the Eastern Pacific (Gulf of California south to Peru and the Galápagos Islands)

Tylosurus punctulatus (Günther 1872)    diminutive of punctum, spot, i.e., dotted, referring to numerous brown dots on silvery sides and lower body

Tylosurus rafale Collette & Parin 1970    named for the French exploratory fishing vessel La Rafale, on which senior author spent several “productive and eventful” weeks during the Guinean Trawling Survey in 1963; the captain, crew, fellow scientists, and especially the first mate contributed directly to collecting many specimens of this species

Xenentodon Regan 1911    xenos, strange or foreign (i.e., different); odon, tooth, referring to one pair of dentigerous upper pharyngeals, compared to three pairs in presumed congeners at the time

Xenentodon cancila (Hamilton 1822)    apparent latinization of Kangkila (also spelled Kokilah, Kakhya and other variations), all local names for this species in India

Xenentodon canciloides (Bleeker 1854)    oides, having the form of: referring to similarity with X. cancila


Family SCOMBERESOCIDAE Sauries
2 genera · 5 species

Cololabis Gill 1896    colo-, curtailed or shortened; labis, forceps, referring to very short beak of C. brevirostris (=saira)

Cololabis adoceta Böhlke 1951    unexpected or surprising, presumably referring to the discovery of this species among a collection labeled as juvenile C. saira at the California Academy of Sciences but bearing locality data that placed them “rather far south”                 

Cololabis saira (Brevoort 1856)    from Saira-owoo, local name in Japan, meaning “spear fish”                         

Scomberesox Lacepède 1803    combining the features of Scomber, the mackerels (shape, color, pelagic habits) with the prolonged jaws of Esox, the pikes

Scomberesox saurus (Walbaum 1792)    lizard, a name dating to “De Sauro” of Rondelet (1554), who described it was similar to Saurida, a generic term for lizardfishes (Aulopiformes: Synodontidae)

Scomberesox scombroides (Richardson 1843)    oides, having the form of: unpublished name coined by Swedish naturalist Daniel Solander (1733-1782), probably referring to its Scomber (mackerel)-like coloration, described as “intense aquamarine or ‘garter-blue’ on the back” with a “silvery hue on the belly”

Scomberesox simulans (Hubbs & Wisner 1980)    imitating, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its appearance as a dwarf version of S. saurus